Latest Podcast
The Trump Era: Day 1 | Three integrally-informed friends attempt to face reality
PodcastMy colleagues Diane Hamilton and Terry Patten are here at my home, preparing for the Integral Living Room gathering which begins tomorrow. They arrived a day early, yesterday (November 8), so we could celebrate Hillary Clinton's victory together. Ha ha!
Instead we, like millions of people, are trying to come to terms with the victory of Donald Trump. Suddenly we are embarking on a new adventure together -- one that Diane, Terry and I, at least, would never have chosen.
We recorded a conversation of our process to share with you, in case it might help you make sense of things as well.
read more and access podcast...Evolution in Culture
The evolution of masculinity in two short videos
One way we grow is to differentiate and integrate—to see aspects of ourselves that we thought were solid and final, to tease them apart into their sub-components, and to befriend them. So it is with the evolution of the culture at large.
Consider masculinity. The male ideal may still be strong, stoic and straight -- but the edifice is crumbling. Postmodern consciousness allows many more options, as we see in these videos below.
First is an ad for men’s grooming brand Axe, which gleefully explodes the stereotype of what it means to be a man. It exhorts men to “find your magic.” After all, “who needs some other thing, when you got your thing?”
The second video is a three-minute dance piece by director Bertil Nilsson, which explores the intimacy of physical interactions between three male friends on the streets of London.
–Jeff Salzman
Outspoken modern Muslim’s merciless critique of his pre-modern culture
Wow, this Saudi leader, Ibrahim Al-Buleihi, is a true lover of the West — and a fearless critic of muslim culture. I have to say I was surprised by a couple things in this video:
1. Apparently a muslim can can criticize their culture more freely than they can criticize their religion. Note he separates religion out of his thesis. “When we want to study a religious issue, we go back to our heritage. But when we are studying an earthly matter, such as why we are backward while others are prosperous, we must search for the answer elsewhere, not in our heritage."
2. He gives an amazing, first hand account of the mindset of a pre-modern culture: a lack of independent thought, a herd mentality and a reflexive sense of cultural superiority, the latter of which seems to be a feature of all cultures. Except for the rare exception like Al-Buleihi...
–Jeff Salzman
“You can’t trust news outlets if you want to understand the world…”
God bless Hans Rosling, cantankerous proselytizer for the upward arc of history: "I am right and you are wrong," he tells his Danish interviewer. Wish I had the nerve ...
A listener from Denmark sent me this video. He says it has has become quite popular there and has been viewed over a million times. It makes sense. The Danes have one of the highest developmental centers-of-gravity in the world.
Mature postmodernists (green altitude) are tiring of fear and doom narratives. They have adequately integrated a world-centric sensitivity to the plight of suffering beings, so they are ready to move on to the integral stage of development, which recognizes that most things are improving.
This would explain the surprising popularity of the Rosling message in Denmark. At any rate, Hans made my day.
Hans Rosling is a TED Talk favorite. Check out his best talks here.
–Jeff Salzman
Integral essay brings happiness in five minutes
Sarcasm reaches its apogee at the Green post-modern stage of cultural development. So whenever we see a work of art that includes sarcasm and transcends it with something like sincerity, there’s a good chance we’re moving out of Green and into the Integral stages of development. Thus it is with this short essay, "How to Live an Alternative Comedy Lifestyle," by Mike O’Brien in the New Yorker. I loved this piece, and when I finished reading it I noticed that I was in a heightened — and heartened — state.
Remember: “If you want it to be really hilarious, mean it."
–Jeff Salzman
“My name’s Blurryface, and I care what you think” – The 20-somethings’ lament
The song “Stressed Out” by twenty one pilots really captures the angst and self-rumination (always a bad combination) of today's postmodern 20-somethings.
These young folks are, after all, pioneering a distinct new stage on the road to adulthood, emerging adulthood, which is explored in a terrific piece in the New York Times, What Is It About 20-Somethings?:
The traditional cycle seems to have gone off course, as young people remain untethered to romantic partners or to permanent homes, going back to school for lack of better options, traveling, avoiding commitments, competing ferociously for unpaid internships or temporary (and often grueling) Teach for America jobs, forestalling the beginning of adult life.
Emerging adulthood is similar to the advent of adolescence at the beginning of the 20th century, when humanity became rich and sophisticated enough to accommodate, indeed require, a new life stage between childhood and adulthood.
And once again life expands, which makes further sense when we consider that today’s young people will likely live well into their 100’s.
But still ... it’s stressful being a grown man on a tricycle.
Read the lyrics to "Stressed Out" by twenty one pilots.
More stories of Evolution in the Culture→
Of Interest
New reality show features integral artist Stuart Davis (and family)!
Check out House of Davis, which follows the Davis family, comprised of singer-songwriter Stuart Davis (46), child psychotherapist Marci (47), and their daughters Ara (12) and Aja (9) as they navigate love, death, sexuality, money, health difficulties, and the various challenges of family life with love, humor and an intoxicating sense of adventure.
The Integral Living Room Workshop
An exploration of death and dying
with Ken Wilber, Diane Musho Hamilton, Terry Patten and Jeff Salzman
November 10 - 13, 2016 / Boulder / tickets available
About integral theory
Integral theory is a school of philosophy that seeks to integrate all of human wisdom into a new, emergent worldview that is able to accommodate the gifts of all previous worldviews, including those which have been historically at odds: science and religion, eastern and western, and pre-modern, modern and post-modern. Read more
About Jeff Salzman
I am an integralist, an evolutionary, and a public commentator who, swimming against the current of prevailing culture, is heartened by the state and future of things. It seems to me self-evident that life is animated by the power of evolution, inside and out, and that we are riding a geyser of emergence toward a sacred world. Read more
Recent favorites
George Will’s story of slowing economic growth is correct — but it misses the best part
In his recent column, “Why the Future is Going to Disappoint Us”, George Will presents the case that economic growth is likely to slow indefinitely, and that the unprecedented wealth creation of the 20th Century was a one-time and unrepeatable event. I agree with this...
read moreWhy should we care about the news?
VideoI was interviewed at the Integral European Conference by Alex Howard for Conscious 2 TV. In a quick half-hour I lay out many of the themes I deal with here at the Daily Evolver. Check it out!
read more and watch video...The psychology of politics: a conversation with Dr. Keith Witt
PodcastCarl von Clausewitz famously said “war is the continuation of politics by other means.” From a developmental standpoint, Dr. Keith points out, it’s the other way around: politics is actually war by other means. The 1800 election between Adams and Jefferson was the first ever peaceful transition...
read more and access podcast...Trump the Terrible: an Integral Look at the Boy who Would be King
PodcastDefeat Trump! Not because he is a big alpha figure who would bust up the establishment. Not because he's vulgar. Not because lacks a coherent policy vision. Those things can actually be evolutionarily potent in their proper measure. No, the real problem with Donald Trump is that in important lines of development he is arrested at the level of a five-year-old. Keep nukes out of the hands of children. Make sure to vote!
read more and access podcast...“I, my brother and my cousin against the stranger.” The soul of Saudi Arabia. Plus Bence Ganti on IEC 2016
PodcastIn this week’s Daily Evolver live Jeff takes an in-depth look at the beautiful and mysterious desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which he refers to as “our Arab frenemy”. President Obama spent several days there last week—his 4th visit, more than any sitting president....
read more and access podcast...First tier food fight: Red Trump to Green Sanders
PodcastJeff often talks about how politics offers us opportunities to do integral practice, because politics has a lot of juice. “It really reaches down to our lower strata of development, down to our power and security chakras, which determine how we see the world,”...
read more and access podcast...Insect consciousness • Saving the elephants • The Witch: movie review • Plus, Trump’s the one!
PodcastAs humans evolve we are able to empathize with more and more life forms, beginning with other people and eventually extending to other species that may be very different from us–from elephants to insects. Officially as of this week we can now add insects to the mix of...
read more and access podcast...The world according to Wilber
PodcastKen Wilber is my hero. I mean that quite literally because Ken rescued me from a life of confusion, fear and frustration as I tried to make sense of our crazy, mixed up world. Ken’s insights organized life on Planet Earth from a disjointed mess into an elegant whole.
read more and access podcast...Climate change – is Gaia mad at us?
Few topics strike fear in the hearts of green progressives like climate change. But thus alarmed, Greens are frustrated because they can’t seem to convince orange modernists and amber traditionalists of the truth and urgency of the problem. Climate change ranks low on...
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Daily Evolver Archives
Sanders’ amazing race • Policing Trump-speak • An unlikely source of Muslim rage
PodcastJeff begins this episode with a heartfelt reminder of just how valuable integral theory is for opening our hearts and understanding our world. It helps us to see and accommodate more of reality, to make sense of competing worldviews and conflicting truth claims. “All...
read more and access podcast...Trump versus Clinton: the roller derby begins
PodcastJeff begins the podcast by playing an excerpt from a commencement speech given by President Obama at Howard University recently, which has a distinctly integral feeling to it. Before challenging the graduates, Obama puts their place in history in context: “If...
read more and access podcast...Insect consciousness • Saving the elephants • The Witch: movie review • Plus, Trump’s the one!
PodcastAs humans evolve we are able to empathize with more and more life forms, beginning with other people and eventually extending to other species that may be very different from us–from elephants to insects. Officially as of this week we can now add insects to the mix of...
read more and access podcast...“I, my brother and my cousin against the stranger.” The soul of Saudi Arabia. Plus Bence Ganti on IEC 2016
PodcastIn this week’s Daily Evolver live Jeff takes an in-depth look at the beautiful and mysterious desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which he refers to as “our Arab frenemy”. President Obama spent several days there last week—his 4th visit, more than any sitting president....
read more and access podcast...First tier food fight: Red Trump to Green Sanders
PodcastJeff often talks about how politics offers us opportunities to do integral practice, because politics has a lot of juice. “It really reaches down to our lower strata of development, down to our power and security chakras, which determine how we see the world,”...
read more and access podcast...Validation for Einstein; Funeral for Scalia. Plus, America’s gun-love
PodcastRipples in the fabric of space/time Einstein’s general theory of relativity got its final proof this month as scientists detected the bending of space and time that he predicted one hundred years ago. The world that Einstein showed us is so much stranger than what we...
read more and access podcast...Receive a weekly update about what’s new on The Daily Evolver.
The practice of mutual awakening: a conversation with Patricia Albere
PodcastYears ago, a love relationship changed the course of Patricia Albere’s life. “We entered into a very intensive awakening that we shared…and together we were being purified and processed by whatever this thing was.” The Sufis refer to it, she says, as red sulfur, an...
read more and access podcast...The practice of integrating God and Emptiness: a conversation with Steve McIntosh
PodcastFor many of us in progressive, postmodern cultures, our spiritual evolution follows a similar trajectory: we move from the conventional religion of our childhood (which in the West is theistic) to secular humanism, which eventually gives way to postmodern explorations...
read more and access podcast...Jeff speaks with Bence Ganti about “Reinventing Europe”, IEC 2016
PodcastIn this short episode, Jeff speaks with Bence Ganti about the 2nd Integral European Conference taking place in Hungary next week, at beautiful Lake Balaton. Bence explains the multiple wisdom streams converging at this event: Wilberian integral theory, Don Beck’s...
read more and access podcast...Can integral theory solve climate change and save democracy? A conversation with Alan Watkins
PodcastIn "Wicked and Wise", Alan and Ken use climate change as an example of a wicked problem. “Integral coherence”, or applying the integral map in a coherent fashion, is the essence of the solution. In the podcast, Jeff and Alan discuss climate change, the problems of globalization and democracy, getting CEO’s to do the right thing, and even Donald Trump!
read more and access podcast...The Mormon faith crisis: can integral thinking help? A conversation with author Thomas McConkie
PodcastActivity in the Mormon church seems to be declining – particularly in the West – and Thomas McConkie is witnessing what he calls a “faith crisis.” Many people are questioning the stories being passed down to them, especially Millennials, who are effortlessly modern or...
read more and access podcast...Steve McIntosh on polarity theory and a path forward in US politics, (plus Donald Trump!)
PodcastIn this conversation, Steve talks to Jeff about the new paper he released through The Institute for Cultural Evolution, titled Overcoming Polarization by Evolving Both Right and Left: How Polarity Theory Provides a Path to Political Progress. Looking at the current...
read more and access podcast...The Warrior and the Man of Wisdom: Jeff and Dr. Keith on the nature of masculinity
PodcastDr. Keith has been working with men for decades as a psychotherapist. When he talks about masculinity, he focuses on the Warrior archetype, and beyond that, what he calls the “Man of Wisdom”. The Warrior is that part of us that is willing to...
read more and access podcast...Dr. Keith Witt on how to regulate anxiety
Podcastanx·i·e·ty (aNGˈzīədē/) noun 1. A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. T he ability to remember the past and to imagine the future sets us apart from other animals. A zebra doesn’t...
read more and access podcast...Integral sex therapy with Dr. Keith Witt
PodcastIn a healthy intimate relationship, the partners don’t have to be turned on by each other all the time, says Dr. Keith, “but they do need to be turned on by each other regularly.” Every couple has a balance of how much sex is needed to keep things vibrant, and...
read more and access podcast...From midlife crisis to a deeper sense of self, with Dr. Keith Witt
PodcastThe popular picture of the midlife crisis is the man in his 40’s or 50’s who’s lost his job, his wife or his health. He’s dyed his hair, bought a Porsche and is dating a much younger woman. We feel sorry for him, maybe in the same way we would feel sorry for an active...
read more and access podcast...The integral guide to divorce, with Dr. Keith Witt
PodcastThe higher divorce rate likely indicates our changing expectations of a primary partnership. We’re living twice as long as we did a hundred years ago, women have more power, and the standard of marriage is a fulfillment standard now more than a stability standard, which is more demanding.
read more and access podcast...The practice of the marital love affair, with Dr. Keith Witt
PodcastIn this conversation on marriage, Dr. Keith shares intimate insights on topics such as what questions to ask as you consider marriage, how to deal with conflict and infidelity, progressive bonding, passion and friendship, and above all, the challenge of supporting each other’s mutual development.
read more and access podcast...